'Chillingly gothic' – The Guardian, Best Crime and Thrillers of the Year
Inspired by the haunting true story of the Winchester Mystery House, Palace of Shadows is a hair-raising gothic thriller from the prize-winning author of the City Blues Quartet, Ray Celestin.
1899. The desolate Smugglers’ Coast of North Yorkshire is a place that strikes fear into those who live nearby. Unexplained deaths, suicides, young girls gone missing on the nearby moors — the locals say it’s the grand house that drives people mad.
Still, when Samuel Etherstone is contacted by its reclusive owner, Mrs Chesterfield, and commissioned to work on the property, he accepts the offer. For a penniless artist adrift in London, the opportunity is too tempting to ignore.
It is only on arrival at the Chesterfield house that he learns the sinister details of its architect’s disappearance. Meanwhile, the widowed Mrs Chesterfield, keeps adding wing upon wing, and no one will tell him the reason behind her chilling obsession. But as Samuel delves deeper into the mysteries that swirl about the house the nature of the project becomes terrifyingly clear . . .
'Darkly entertaining' – Laura Shepherd-Robinson, bestselling author of The Square of Sevens
'Its jaw-dropping finale will leave readers reeling. An absolute triumph' – Sunday Express
'Moves exhilaratingly into Gothic territory' – Financial Times